I am still racing but less than I would if some things were different. I can afford to race as much as I want but am inherently frugal (which is probably why I can afford to race as much as I want). First of all I have no interest in bs ways to extract money and time from me such as requiring me to check in on a Friday for a Sunday IM race. That means I have to travel on Thursday because if one has delayed flight you might not make registration. So now with going home it is a five day trip. Local half ironman and olympic races offer the opportunity to check in and rack you bike the morning of the race so if ironman cannot do the same (at least for halfs) means I will race ironman races less. As far as I am concerned spectating a triathlon is boring so I am not asking my wife to come along. With the on call responsibilities of my job (family doctor in small town) it is a significant issue to make sure things are covered when I am away. I can only do that for so many times a year so family holidays take priority. Second thing is I hate having to register way in advance for races that are basically non-refundable. And the whole thing where races are held in places where the local hotel scene is overwealmed by the race and you have to book your hotel way in advance often non-refundable as well is a hassle. Last thing is the whole thing seems to have gotten way too serious at least at IM races. I don't understand middle of the pack triathletes spending 2-3 grand for aero wheels to go 2-3 mins faster in a half. I just take 3 min off my time and figure out where I would be if I had aero wheels. I had the most fun in the last few years at local low key races. I also had alot of fun at what seemed a low key challenge race this year in Europe. The times on average where fast but it seemed more low key. Somehow they manage to run races year after year with 300-400 entrants. IM Muskoka was a great time because I could drive to it. But they cancelled it because only 900 showed up. 900 seemed like not bad for the first year. The buzz was that a fair number of people avoided the race because they thought it would be too hard. I am not sure what the point is of looking for an easy full ironman.
They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot
They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot